As you know, Cedar Rapids has been in the news, and this news has nothing to do with the Iowa caucuses, Ashton Kutcher, or Elijah Wood. Yes, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa flooding shatters all previous records. This is a disaster movie without the movie. Fortunately, I live on high ground and well out of harm’s way. Despite the indirect effects of the flooding, I am among the lucky ones.
I have never, ever in my life witnessed such widespread flooding or destruction. I grew up in Chicago’s southwest suburban Palos Hills. We never had flooding in our house, because we lived on high ground. There were several times that flooding struck parts of the Chicagoland area, but the flooding and its effects was very localized.
Cedar Rapids is not a small town – it has a population of around 120 thousand people, roughly on the order of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (where I attended undergraduate school at University of Illinois). Most of downtown Cedar Rapids was flooded at the crest. All the neighborhoods bordering the Cedar River were flooded. Many smaller towns around Iowa are completely flooded. Although the water level is finally retreating, it will be many days before it returns below flood stage, and no property can be cleaned up until the floodwater has completely departed. At least 20 thousand people (or 1/6th of the Cedar Rapids population) have been evacuated from their homes.
Even those of us lucky enough to be out of harm’s way have still face hardships. All but one municipal water well is out of service, and that one working well is only at partial capacity. For the last few days and until just a few hours ago, we were ordered to use tap water for drinking only. We were told to avoid showers and even avoid flushing the toilet. Avoiding a shower isn’t that bad given that the weather is mild, so I’m glad this flooding hasn’t been accompanied by 90-degree heat. However, having to avoid flushing the toilet stinks – literally. I was about to buy a big bag of kitty litter (despite the fact that I am not owned by a cat) when I finally heard that more water capacity has been restored. We’re still far from full water capacity, but at least we can flush the toilets.
Driving around the STATE of Iowa is a challenge. The floodplains are SO big and the flooding so widespread that parts of even the Interstates are closed due to flooding. Here in Cedar Rapids, Interstate 380 is the only route over the Cedar River, because all of the other bridges (which are lower) are flooded. Nearly ever road crossing the Cedar River or Iowa River is flooded or even washed away. Even Interstate 80 has been engulfed by the Cedar River, and even Interstate 380 has been engulfed by the Iowa River. Anyone trying to cross Iowa from east to west on Interstate 80 has to take a long detour – north on US 61 to Dubuque, west on US 20 to Interstate 35, and south on Interstate 35 to Des Moines to return to Interstate 80. a trip from Cedar Rapids to Iowa City by car is 280 miles instead of the usual 20.
This disaster reminds me of the September 11th attacks, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Believe it or not, I lived in northern Virginia during the September 11th attacks, the anthrax attacks, the serial sniper spree, and the Hurricane Isabel remnants. These other disasters I witnessed were also tragic in their own ways, but NONE of them destroyed such a large part of the infrastructure over such a wide area as the Iowa flood of 2008.
My advice on how to avoid flooding:
1. Live on high ground. I have always been afraid of floods, and I have always sought out high ground when looking for a place to live. You don’t need to be an expert on drainage systems or hydrology. You don’t need any special tools. Make sure you aren’t next to a creek or stream, and make sure you are at a land elevation substantially higher than all of the local creeks and streams and a fair distance away from them (particularly if the land is flat, as this means a slight rise in the water level goes a long way). Make sure that your home isn’t at a lower elevation than the surrounding land. Be sure that there are visible places for excessive water to drain to besides your home.
2. PLEASE do not live in a location that relies on a levee, dike, or dam for protection. These structures fail precisely when they are needed the most. Yes, I am aware that the Dutch would take offense at my statement, but the rest of the world does not have Dutch levels of expertise, maintenance, and construction quality.
I hope that when the rebuilding takes place here in Iowa, the role of wetlands will be taken more seriously here and across the entire world. Yes, the weather has been unusually wet since last winter. However, the destruction of wetlands over the decades exacerbates flooding, because nothing else absorbs excess water more effectively. If the land changes, then the old definitons of the 100-year floodplain and 500-year floodplain are no longer valid. What had been the 100-year floodplain might become the 10-year floodplain. To bring this post on-topic, if James “Mad Money” Cramer were put in charge of Berkshire Hathaway, it would cease to be a conservative stalwart blue chip, no matter how much CNBC touted Berkshire Hathaway’s past performance record.
I’ve also been shocked by the number of Iowa towns that are protected by levees. It’s one thing for one small and insignificant part of a river to be affected by levees. However, when there are levees along a large part of a river and not enough wetlands to absorb excess water, the swollen river has no place to go other than over its banks. I hope that the rebuilding takes place on higher ground that doesn’t rely on a levee for protection.
A few more thoughts:
1. If you are ever impacted by a disaster, PLEASE be on the lookout for scam artists. I’m hearing that the scammers are already out looking for desperate people to fleece.
2. I am amazed by the outpouring of support. When a need for sandbaggers is announced on TV, crowds of volunteers show up at that location in a matter of minutes. Many amateur radio operators are helping to provide communications at shelters and the local hospital. As an amateur radio operator myself, I will be helping at St. Luke’s tomorrow morning.
